In order to improve healthcare for both the service provider and the recipient, it is imperative that the paper record method currently practiced be rendered obsolete by providing an electronic medical record that can be easily built and updated. In addition, with the internet playing a vastly increasing role in all of our lives, it is also imperative to utilize efficiencies that the internet provides in the healthcare environment, particularly at the point of care.
Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. Television required approximately 11 years to reach 60 million viewers. The Internet has garnered 50 million users in 5 years. Today, we are constantly reminded of the power and scale of the Internet. Without question, it is the greatest telecommunications revolution since the advent of the telephone. Its presence has created the networked economy, or the “digital economy”.
The power of this newfound connectivity can precipitate productivity and efficiency gains of exponential proportions. With an unprecedented adoption curve, and generations of technical advances occurring at a breath-taking pace, the Internet has evolved from an academic medium for sharing rich research to a commercial delivery network of content, services, and workflow control.
Healthcare has endured inefficiencies, disparate legacy systems, and disjointed workflow with high latencies for many years. These difficulties are coupled with the fact that the healthcare experience has begun to deteriorate not only for the patient, but for the physician and support staff, as well.
With only an average of seven minutes of “face-to-face time” per visit, both the physician and the patient are left unfulfilled. The physician feels his/her number one priority, the quality of care, is forsaken, and the patient feels as though there is not enough time to be treated. The Internet and the digital economy can foster much needed change.